Diagram musical score



Feb. 18, 1941. G. P. PETERSEN DIAGRAM MUSICAL SCORE Filed Dec. 4, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 D D; 4 d3 0 Om L I P w w Y REQ M m w mp W W Va A mm? s H Hhn Feb. 18, 1941. a T S N 2,232,264

DIAGRAM MUSICAL SCORE Filed Dec. 4, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TOP BIZ.

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INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 18, 194i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to a diagram musical score.

The objects of the present invention include a musical score that is believed to be easier read and understood than the conventional way of writing music, more than two hundred years old.

Another object of the invention is a means for readily adapting a. given score to all major or minor keys.

Other objects will be at once apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains from the description describing the principle of the invention, which may be readily applied to a great variety of other embodiments other than the one described, without departing from the principle disclosed or the scope of the appended claims.

Drawings accompany and form a part of this specification wherein two types of scores are shown and will be described, and it will be at once understood how a great variety of other embodiments may be made, as required.

In the drawings;

Fig. I is a score showing a melody of sixteen measures as arranged for a stringed instrument, such as a guitar, banjo, ukulele or other instrument employing the same intervals of tuning;

Fig. II represents a musical score, again con.- taining sixteen measures but in this case arranged for the harmonica;

Fig. III is a section taken at IIIIII, Fig. II;

Fig. IV is a section at IVIV, Fig. II; and

Fig. V is an enlargement of the slot structure .indicated by the numerals 5 and 6, or in fact any other slot in either embodiment, disregarding size.

The word Top at the proper place on both sheets indicates the position of the sheet before the player and vertical and horizontal lines will then be in their proper relationship.

Describing Fig. 1:

Turning the sheet on its side with the signatures at the left. The upper right area, the corners of which are indicated by the numeral I, contains sixteen measures of a melody, the elements of which are indicated by blocked in rectangles having different areas representing musical sounds of different lengths. This is the score, a short one, it is true, but which may be made as much longer as desired by increasing the number of measures, and wider to increase the range as may seem desirable, as for a piano.

Slots such as 2 and 3 are cut in the sheet so that a tongue or land will remain between them.

A slide 4 is inserted in the slots, into one and out of the other so that the major area of the slide is in view adjacent the score; the slide in. place being the proper one for the key of D major for a standard guitar as ordinarily 5 tuned. The numerals on the slide represent the strings.

At the left of the score is another set of slots 5 and 6, with lands between them forming a mounting for another slide 1, which contains chord diagrams for the accompaniment of the musical score. The key is of course the same.

Below the score I is seen a number of slides for different keys as marked. It will be at once apparent that printing them on the same sheet, from which they may be severed when needed, is an economical though not necessary way of producing them.

At the left of the score I are a similar number of slides that are interchangeable with the slide 1; hence when the player wishes to play the score in another key he merely removes the slides in the key of D, shown in place, and substitutes two others in the chosen key. Several of the slides containing accompaniments at the left are left blank to save repetitious work that would add nothing to the disclosure of the principle.

Considering now the diagram of Fig. II which shows my invention applied to a musical score for harmonicas.

In this case the blocked in rectangles represent musical sounds inherent in the holes of the harmonica, which may be sounded, short or long, by blowing or drawing on the holes; each square, represented by the equally spaced vertical and horizontal lines, is therefore the representative of a hole in the harmonica and therefore of two musical sounds, one of which, say the blow sound, will be indicated by a rectangle at one portion of a given square and the draw sound, produced by the same hole, will be in the same square, but in another position in the square, such as the one indicated by the numeral H) in Fig. II.

One of the rectangles in the square just referred to by numeral l0 contains a. blow sound while the other rectangle in the same square indicates a draw sound.

Where a sound is to be repeated rapidly, it will be noted as shown in the first occupied square diagonally to the right of square [0, indicated by l2; where there are a number of blocks of equal value, these indicate rapid repetitions of the same sound. Where a long note is sounded, see the rectangle indicating its value in the squares l4 and I5, where the sound is about 1 measures in duration.

Again in order to make use of this musical score a slide 4a, which is inserted in slots 2a and 5 3a, is again necessary, for the reason that the do sound, corresponding to c in the natural scale, varies from the third to the sixth hole, though it is always on the blow, not the draw, as harmonicas are now made. By using a slide, the musical score is playable on a wide variety of types of harmonicas as well as harmonicas of the same type but in different keys.

In this case there is no illustration of different detachable slides but reference is made to the sheet containing Fig. I and the extra slides in desired number and variety may be provided on the same sheet or separately as desired.

The principle of musical notation being hereby disclosed, it will be immediately apparent how a musical score may be arranged to be played by this system using score sheets of difierent sizes and lengths and always corresponding slides as described.

The score sheet of Fig. I is shown arranged for a four stringed instrument, among which may be mentioned the guitar. Guitars are sometimes made with more than four strings though in such cases the two lower strings are seldom used save for accompaniment and no clarity would have been added to the disclosure by showing space for six strings on the drawings.

Having fully disclosed my invention in such manner that those skilled in musical arts may expand or contract the same to get wider or less scope, but without departing from the principle of the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

1. A musical score sheet comprising a rectan- 49 gular sheet subdivided by a plurality of equally spaced horizontal lines and another series of equally spaced vertical lines, musical score indicia in the small rectangles thus indicated, and

a key indicating member detachably attached to register with the vertical rows of rectangles, there being indicia thereon indicating the musical instrumentality to be sounded to produce the parts of the score in vertical alignment therewith, and the particular key for present rendition.

2. A musical score sheet comprising a rectangle subdivided into smaller equal rectangles by spaced horizontal and vertical lines, an interchangeable key member detachably attached to the sheet to register with the vertical lines and bearing registering indicia instruction as to which sound producing element of a given instrument is to be actuated singly or concomitantly with 60 others, indicated in the same vertical row of rectangles, the said key member being exchangeable for other key members bearing differently arranged indicia, whereby the score will be readable in dilferent musical keys.

3. A musical score sheet comprising a rectangular sheet member having rectangular subdivisions in horizontal and vertical rows, and an interchangeable detachably attached key member with divisions thereon that register with the vertical rows on the sheet, there being vertical rows of indicia in the said rectangular subdivisions, the whole of which represent a musical score having as many measures as there are horizontal rows of subdivisions, and there being indicia in the divisions of the key member that represent musical sound producing instrumentalities positioned according to the key in which the musical score is to be rendered.

4. A musical score sheet comprising a rectangular sheet member subdivided into rectangular subdivisions by horizontal and vertical lines, said subdivisions bearing indicia representing only musical sounds and the duration thereof, a key indicating member detachably attached to the top of the sheet, bearing registering indicia indicating the musical sound producer that requires actuation to render the sounds directly under said indicia and another member detachably attached on one side of the score sheet in registry with horizontal subdivisions that bears accompaniment indicia.

5. A musical score sheet comprising a rectangle subdivided by ve rtical and horizontal lines, an interchangeable strip member detachably attached to the sheet to register with the vertical lines, another interchangeable strip member detachably attached at one side of the rectangle in registry with the horizontal lines, and score indicia on the score sheet, sounds in the same measure being in the same horizontal line with similar musical sounds in the same vertical line, the first named strip bearing indicia that varies according to the key in which the score is played and the second slide bearing indicia of the accompaniment of the registering measure.

6. A musical score sheet for a harmonica comprising a rectangular sheet subdivided by spaced vertical and horizontal lines to produce a series of vertical and horizontal rows of rectangular divisions, each vertical row representing the same hole in a harmonica and each horizontal row representing a measure of the score to be played, and a detachably attachable strip adapted to be placed in registry with the vertical rows, to instruct as to inhalation or exhalation required to produce a given note according to the key of the instrument.

GEORG P. PETERSEN. 

